


#SaveConnie2014

by r2mich2



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (it is), Alternate Universe - High School, Connie Springer POV, Crossdressing, Eremin - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Female Homosexuality, Forced Crossdressing, Heterosexuality, It may or may not be Marie Bodt, It's really not as bad as it sounds, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Marco has a little sister, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV First Person, Reibert - Freeform, Slow To Update, eruri - Freeform, jeanmarco, long chapters, mikani, you could probably put Reiner/Connie on that list lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-09
Updated: 2014-06-09
Packaged: 2018-02-03 23:55:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1760115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/r2mich2/pseuds/r2mich2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Connie Springer, after an odd series of events, find himself both living with his friend Marco Bodt and attending every day of his sophomore year of high school as a girl. It all started out as a dare by his best friend Reiner but after being dressed up and forced into women's clothing they see just how far Connie will go to protect his identity from being discovered. </p><p>Of course it never makes it easy when the girl of your dreams is convinced you're of the same persuasion as herself and she becomes best friends with you. </p><p>(CONNIE SPRINGER POV, and Springles centric with multiple minor pairings. Comedy with some references to the manga/anime on more than one occasion. Connie's opinions and views are not reflective of my own. Many, many characters. Dyslexic Connie Springer.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	#SaveConnie2014

**Author's Note:**

> AHA, so this is something I've been working on for basically months now and now that I'm finally moved into my new residence I can write again. (Also I feel terrible for starting another fic but dude I'd be writing this anyway it's my child). Anyhow, this fic is purely dedicated to the fact that I wanted to torture Connie in ways that only a person could do when they love their favorite character oh so much. I also felt obligated to dedicate something to Springles and it HAD to be utterly crazy in the manner of #SaveConne2014. This is going to be a long fic and I will continue writing it until it's finished because I love it so much omfg. The title is rather apt towards the story line.
> 
> As for side notes, Connie's opinions are not my own. I'm just representing the character the best I can and I wanted to take a stab at writing first person Connie since we never see him. Plus, Connie, Marco, Reiner, and Bertholdt have a crazy friendship I felt like I should shed light on. In addition, Marco and Connie are perfectly fine getting along as roommates but Marie Bodt does not tolerate Connie. (If you haven't read LAD, you should. Marie Bodt is purely Ownly-Lownly's character.)
> 
> Uh, aside from that. I'm not trying to offend anyone with this piece in any way. Connie's opinions aren't my own and as are the same for many of the characters. In addition, any text in the chapter is belonging to Connie's persona and none of it is in any way an author's note. Marco's family is the only major ocs to appear in this fic and that is primarily Marie Bodt. Also, beware headcanons. The Dyslexia observations made in this were both from research and speaking with dyslexic friends. I'm trying to be as accurate as possible and if wrong, please re-inform me. *Also they play a hybrid of spin the bottle/truth or dare.

I have really, really strange friends. I’m just going to start off like that because honestly, they’re the entire reason I get into any mess as bad as the ones they’ve put me into.  But to begin though, I might as well introduce myself.

I’m Connie Springer.

I’m from a town called Ragako. It’s rural, really out of the way. My family and I aren’t very well off and I’m forced to share a lot with my siblings but they’re much younger than me anyway. My sister, Sunny, is in the sixth grade and Martin, my brother, is in the fourth.  The both of them are more than I could ever ask for and I adore them, but don’t let them know that because I’ve been pranking them since the beginning. (Sonny’s really great though and I try not to pick on her _too_ much.)

My parents are really happy together so I guess I’m lucky there. They don’t make a lot of money. My dad owns a local business and my mom helps out between shifts at a bunch of different restaurants. Her dream was always to be a capable restaurant owner and I still think someday she’ll get there. The two of them never really got their dreams so they push me to be the best that I can be, within reason.

I’m not the smartest kid and I guess part of that is my fault. I’m dyslexic and a little ADD. But my parents understand that and they still want me to go out there and do my best and go to greater places. They’re supportive and awesome and they do what they can to help out all the time even if they don’t have the best educations either. I’m thankful.

Though, probably the greatest thing my parents ever did for me was introduce me to this stupid summer camp. It cost a bit of money and I always told them it was okay if they couldn’t pay for it, (every kid hates summer camp don’t they?), but the first year I went I met too many fun people.

I’ve gone for each of the three years of my middle school experience and each year I always get bunked with my best friend Reiner Braun. Reiner’s one of those really big intimidating guys and he’s _always_ been like that. I’m 90% sure he’s all buff and scary looking so he can impress Bertholdt, his delicate flower. Bertl is really just an extremely tall, sweaty twig.

Then there’s Marco who, bless his soul, acts like some sort of freckled messiah among all of my stupid friends. We don’t talk as much as Reiner and I do but he’s always good for advice and super supportive and he’s such a _nerd_. The guy actually has reading glasses and I’m convinced he carries around a calculator with him everywhere. Plus he acts like my second mother which can be both annoying and awesome.

Those three are primarily my only friends, despite the long distance between where they live and where I live. I’m in the middle of nowhere while they live in the city. It’s a forty-five minute drive if you speed all the way there and run a few red lights and for some reason Reiner’s always ready to come over with a bag of Cheetos and Mountain Dew.

So that’s how my life is, or was. If only it _stayed that way_.

In the last few months of my freshman year, the solitary high school in Ragako suffered massive damage from a fire that got out of control. Luckily it was a weekend so no one was there but it didn’t make things easy for students in my town, considering the nearest schools were each about an hour way.

Everyone ended up finishing up the year sharing the middle school but because of regulations and a lack of money in our county, all the kids would have to attend new schools outside of our town for at least half of the next year. Most of them went south and were accepted to a school with a pretty small amount of students. I had other plans.

My parents didn’t take a lot of convincing to let me head to school where Reiner, Marco, and Bertholdt live. They understood my want to be closer to my buddies and they were glad that such an opportunity arose. The only issue was transportation.

We ended up working it out so that I spent most of my time with Marco at his house. He was the only one with extra room and his mother is a total sweetheart so she agreed to keeping me at her house most days of the week. Otherwise, if I needed to go back home then I’d catch an early morning bus ride of an hour and fifteen minutes when I wanted to go to school.

It was a tough situation but in the long run I was really looking forward to it. I’d actually be able to go to school with some of my best friends and I had heard the school had really nice teachers so they’d be able to help me out some with my dyslexia and attention deficit disorder.

The last three weeks of summer vacation, my parents helped me take some stuff up to Marco’s house and I began living with him. I didn’t get a room to myself, but thank god I was sharing with Marco rather than his sister Marie who is a total fireball. (She also doesn’t like me all too much.)

Reiner and Bertholdt insisted they welcome me to the city and showed me around. It wasn’t until Reiner decided to throw a party at his house to mourn the end of the summer that things got really interesting.

Marco drove me there in his Toyota since first, he had a license and second, I can’t read road signs in the dark to save my life. “Are you still having trouble with driver’s ed?” Marco asked me on the way there and I had to roll my eyes at him.

“It’s not that _I’m_ having trouble. It’s the teacher.” I complained and Marco, being the ever so right person he is, smiled a bit and disregarded the statement for being biased or whatever else.

It’s no secret that I’m not doing well in my classes. Marco knows that and I hope that living under the same roof for part of the time will transfer some of his nerdy knowledge to me so I can do better with my grades.

He was silent for a while until his eyes widened slightly and he turned back towards me. “Uh, just a warning. Don’t drink any punch or anything at the party. Reiner likes to spike that stuff.” He cautioned and I raised an eyebrow. There seemed to be memories of terrible things in those eyes as he looked at me and damn me to hell if I wasn’t curious.

“See now I’ve _got_ to try it.” I smirked and watched as Marco began to regret his statement. He was way too much fun to tease since he’s such a mother hen.

Marco pulled onto Reiner’s road and I could already see the cars lined up for the party. “No, Connie. That stuff is nearly toxic with the amount of booze in there and I know you haven’t got the tolerance for it. Plus, we’re both _underage_. Do you want to get in trouble tonight?” He started lecturing me and I thought I could escape once he parked the car but he wouldn’t unlock the doors and let me leave.

After a few minutes of trying to lift the child lock on the door that was set in place for the little princess Marie Bodt, I turned back around and glared in freckled satan’s direction.

“You promise not to drink anything?” Marco questioned. His face was the picture of innocence and worry. God he was so pure it actually hurt the soul. Of course, I don’t know Marco as well as I know Reiner but he is still way too uptight.

After another minute of silence, I finally said fine and he unlocked the doors. However, he never accounted for the fact that I’m practically a track star and catching up with me once I’m running is near impossible for his muscle-less self.

“See ya!” I called behind me before bolting into the house. Marco shouted something after me but I didn’t hear it. I was way too interested in finding the spiked beverages before he could drag me back to the car and lock me in it.

Which Marco could easily do, actually. Marco’s not weak by any means. He’s actually one of the bigger guys I know but his endurance and stamina is crap when he’s not playing sports regularly. Plus, it doesn’t help that I’m shorter than all the girls and guys my age.

Once inside the house, I quickly found out that either Reiner had a lot of friends or he was really popular. People I didn’t recognize were filing about the house. I could hear some pretty intense sounding ping pong coming from the basement and people were laughing and blasting music all over the place. I headed in the direction that I know was where the kitchen was.

Inside there were a few large bowls/pitchers of lemonade and punch. The entire room smelled of alcohol but I didn’t spot any beer bottles or cans anywhere. Probably harder to hide if a cop showed up…but at least Reiner made alcohol that literally kicked your ass.

Just as I made my way to the bowl of lemonade, I heard someone exclaim the name ‘Marco’ in welcome and I forced myself to speed up. I needed to get in and out quickly so I could avoid him.

By the time he got to the doorway of the kitchen, I was already down the hall and looking around for Reiner. I found him standing in front of the television where a baseball game was playing and a few party-goers were semi-interested in the sport. Reiner was talking about the football team for the next school year.

I found a way to maneuver around a few people and stood myself next to Bertholdt who quickly addressed me with a nervous smile. He shot my cup an odd look and probably had the same idea as Marco but I ignored it and took my first swig of the lemonade.

 _Holy hell_ , Marco wasn’t wrong. That lemonade was at least seventy-percent alcohol by my guess and it burned like a bitch all the way down. I didn’t know if I could handle the buzz.

Reiner eventually turned around and spotted me in the middle of one of his stories which I was having the pleasure of listening to. He seemed drunk by my guess since he was overly affectionate and insisted on announcing who I was in front of the entire room of equally drunk teenagers.

I was practically mauled by the bear that is Reiner as he slapped an arm down on my shoulders and pulled me right up next to him. “Don’t let me forget! This is my best bro. Everybody, Connie Springer. Connie Springer, everybody.” He gestured between me and the medium sized crowd. There were a few whoops that were obviously from someone with no care what they were whooping about.

I awkwardly waved back at the crowd and stayed stuck against Reiner’s side as he refused to let me go. He continued right back into his story about some football game from last year and I sipped on the extremely hard lemonade until my vision went fuzzy. It felt awesome even with the notion of an ass kicking hangover that would murder me in the morning.

I remember getting introduced to a few people that I didn’t remember the names of and watching a fight break out between this guy with hair that was two colors and a kid I swore went to summer camp with me and Reiner. He looked angry as all hell and the determination was enough for me to remember through the buzz.

Three cups that just kept magically appearing in my hands later, I was sitting on the floor of Reiner’s basement with Bertholdt and Marco while partyers ambled about upstairs and attempted leaving. Marco was sending glares my way for breaking my promise but I, once more, ignored them. He could give me hell about it tomorrow when I was sober and curled up on his bunk bed trying to ignore the world through the pillow.

“Hey, do you guys want to play truth or dare or something?” Reiner suggested just as I was taking another drink of the lemonade. I sputtered nearly immediately and began a small coughing fit while I tried to process what he’d just said.

Marco voiced his opinion from where he was leaning against the couch as he shot me a look that said ‘serves you right’ in florescent neon lettering. “I wasn’t aware that we were in middle school.” He stated and I managed to clear my throat enough to add onto it.

“Or girls.” I wheezed and rubbed my throat, setting the cup of lemonade far away from me so I could leave it alone.

Reiner laughed as though it was nonsense that we were turning him down. I shot him an evil look, or what was intended to be an evil look. “The last time we played this game, I ended up naked in the lake at camp and Berty here had to write ‘Reiner’s Bitch’ on his forehead and walk around like that the rest of the day.” I reminded him and figured that was precisely why he wanted to do this again.

Bertholdt shifted slightly where he was and I wondered exactly how he felt about that ordeal now. Almost everything was 100% embarrassing for him so it probably didn’t do more than accidentally walking into the lady’s room at school would. The only difference would be how much he sweats…

“Come on, guys! Nothing’s better than truth or dare and alcohol!” He told us as he stood up, rather wobbly, and wandered over to the small mini fridge I knew he always had stacked full of something. I was mildly surprised no party guests broke into it.

Marco, the only truly sober one of us in the room, got up to stop him while Bertl was shaking his head and doing an elaborate face palm. Poor Berty. He always went through the weirdest shit around Reiner and me.

“Ha! I’ve still got Bud Lite.” Reiner announced as he pulled a few bottles out from the fridge. I muttered something about a bad taste in beer but he’s probably drank more than I have. “Here, Connie, chug this. Whoever finishes first gets to use their bottle for _spin the bottle_.” He tossed a bottle to me and it was sheer luck that made it manage not to splatter all over the floor.

Reiner then backed up so he could sit down beside Bertholdt and handed his friend, (boyfriend?), a beer. Marco, once again, turned it down with a frown that meant he was better than us. I squinted at him to let him know I caught that smarty pants look while opening the bottle.

Two minutes later, I couldn’t feel half my body and everything was blurry. Reiner ended up winning the drinking race anyway but he always had a higher tolerance. Plus he’s bigger, like, _brute-sized_. He could probably drink a brewery dry and still walk decently afterwards.

The freckled messiah was no longer voicing complaints and I could have sworn Bertl looked somewhat excited for whatever reason. At least, that’s what it appeared like to my drunk self.

Reiner placed his bottle in the middle of us and took the first turn. Watching the bottle spin was a little dizzying but I looked away before my head hurt too much. When I turned back to the center, it had landed on Marco. Marco, who was likely texting his mom about us spending the night or something smart, almost didn’t notice until Reiner announced it.

“Marceline,” Reiner addressed him and Marco looked towards him blatantly. I remembered the Halloween that they’d forced him to dress him up as the cartoon vampire. I hadn’t been there but the pictures were gorgeous and the nickname stuck. Plus, Reiner had a habit of giving effeminate nicknames to guys. I don’t like being Constance but if it means Marco gets called Marceline, I’ll deal.

Marco raised his eyebrows as if to let him continue. Reiner nodded his head to let him know he got the message. “Truth or dare.” He swayed as he made an elegant gesture with his hand as though presenting the world to our dear Marcy.

It was like the entire moment paused for him to answer. But Marco was smarter than he was in middle school. He would not take the dangerous path of dare. “Truth.” He said. God, he was so damn predictable that you could map out his entire life and get at least 70% of it right.

“Pansy.” I muttered between fake coughs and shot Bertholdt a look. I at least got a smile out of Bertl and that was good enough.

Reiner seemed satisfied with Marco’s answer like he’d planned for it all along. “Are you and Jean Kirschstein romantically involved?” He asked and briefly I wondered who the fuck this Jean person was. I might have met them tonight, I wasn’t quite sure. But I was certain that Marco couldn’t be dating anyone because god forbid anything prevent him from being the best student ever.

“Reiner, you know he hates it when people pronounce it like ‘Gene’, and no. We’re not romantically involved.” Marco corrected and for a second all I could focus on was the fact that this Jean person was a guy. Since when the hell was Marco into guys? Heck, I understand Reiner and Bertholdt since I’ve seen them doing the nasty like fifty times – ON ACCIDENT, I SWEAR – but Marco?

Bertholdt cut through the static my brain was suffering from when he spoke. “You’re defending him so you two have to be close.” He pointed out and I still seemed to struggle with the fact that Marco was not straight. I mean, hell I don’t have the best gaydar in the world, _but Marco_? I was pretty sure he was asexual or some shit.

“You’re gay?” I asked, looking genuinely confused. Marco seemed shocked at my question and so were Reiner and Bertholdt.

After a second, Marco responded. “Yeah.” He stated plain as day and I leaned back, shaking my head slightly. I guess I never pictured Marco as into girls either but, wow.

To prevent the continuing awkwardness, Marco spun the bottle and it landed on Bertholdt. I was still caught up thinking about Marco’s apparent homosexuality when Bertholdt also had to tell the truth. I would have ignored the round had Marco nod asked a really interesting question.

“Is it true that either you or Reiner have a wig?” Marco asked and Bertholdt seemed to go red in the face. Reiner didn’t look that much different from before the question was asked but at least Reiner didn’t care as much as Bertl did. I waited to hear what he’d say, considering Bert could just be nervous he got asked a question.

After a good moment of silence, Bertl nodded his head. I snorted through my nose and laughed harder than I’ve ever laughed before.

“Oh my god! Really? Where is it?” I snickered. Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I could feel my stomach doing backflips. Laughing after drinking that much alcohol is not good for you but hell, _Bertholdt admitted to having a wig_.

It only got better when Reiner stood up and ambled away towards the stairs. Five minutes later, I was still laughing till I was blue in the face and he was holding not one, but _two_ wigs in his hands. One was a blond the same color as Reiner’s hair and the other was a dark brunette color like Bertholdt.

My laughing fit only ensued as I pointed at the wigs. The blonde one was this wavy, blonde, bob sort of thing that looked way too well cared for and the dark brown one was very long and a little less wavy than the blonde one. I could only imagine what they looked like on Reiner and Bertholdt.

“Oh my god, I dare you to put those on!” I said between laughs and even Marco looked pretty excited to see it. Reiner rolled his eyes, there was no shame there.

Reiner walked over to sit down again. “I’ll dare you to put it on first.” Reiner announced almost like a warning and I only continued on into a giggle fit. At least the wigs would look nice on me since my head’s shaved but heck as long as I didn’t have to go anywhere, it might be fun to joke around in Reiner’s wig.

I watched as Bertholdt spun the bottle and it didn’t surprise me that it landed on me. Only, when I chose dare, I didn’t expect _Bertl_ to do his bestfriend/boyfriend’s wishes. “I dare you to put on Reiner’s wig.” He said it with the highest level of satisfaction.

I stared at him for a minute before rolling my eyes and making the universal ‘hand it over’ motion. Reiner carefully reached over to give me his wig while I neglected to treat it as cautiously as him. God only knows how much he ‘cares’ for it. I seriously don’t get hair. It’s too much effort. That’s why I shaved mine off.

Quite gracelessly, I tugged the wig down over my head and adjusted it a little so it was in the right place. It was weird having the sensation of hair again, or at least, something annoying like that. Plus, it took some fiddling with to get the bangs situated so they weren’t all up in my eyes but after a few minutes I could finally look at the other three expectantly.

Except, while I expected laughing or something smug, I got a mixture of weird looks. Marco was staring at me like I had just announced that I was pregnant with Leonardo Dicaprio’s child and Bertholdt had his hand over his mouth like he was shocked somehow. Reiner was the only one who looked smug and that was more of an ‘I was right’ sort of look.

“What.” I squeaked. I didn’t _mean_ for me to squeak but they were kind of freaking me out.

Marco spoke up first. “You look like a girl.” He answered robotically like he was still trying to process the information. I leaned away from him like he was crazy.

“No I don’t.” I tried to fight but Bertholdt shook his head at me like I was completely and utterly wrong. I stared right back at him and Reiner was chuckling to himself like he had some utterly evil plan and this was all working perfectly for him.

Desperate to see what they were all talking about, I got up and jogged to the basement’s bathroom. There, I found exactly what they were talking about and the first thing out of my mouth was probably the most unholy shriek in the world. After that came the profanities.

“What the hell! I look like a chick! I don’t even have tits and I look like a chick!” I shouted while flailing my arms at the image that was staring back at me in the mirror. The short wavy blonde bob made me look more like my sister than anything, though she was a light brunette instead of blonde. Yet, with the lack of sleep I’ve had from moving up to the city and the lighting, it almost looked like I had light eye make up on.

Then of course there was the fact that I’m short as hell and despite how much I work out, I’m all thin and lean muscle. Most of any muscle definition goes to my trying out for track last year and plenty of girls are joggers.

Oh god, _I am such a girl_. I realized the truth as I glared at the image. Slap some boobs on me and slightly wider hips and hell I could pass for my sister in a few years or my mom when she was much younger and shorter. Even without tits and hips I could pass as a middle schooler.

I probably would have continued glaring at the image had Bertholdt come over to pull me back into the room. He was giving me a soft and reassuring smile and I didn’t exactly appreciate it. I was about ready to rip the wig off my head when I sat down but the only good thing about hair is that it can help you hide your facial expressions. I used that to my advantage.

“Come on Connie, it’s your turn.” Reiner insisted and I looked at him sideways from under the bangs of _his_ wig. He seemed to be really interested in this game now.

I reached forward and spun the bottle anyway. There was nothing worse that could happen at this point but me ending up skinny dipping in another lake at another camp. Besides, that wasn’t the worst dare I’ve taken and it was somewhat entertaining watching the girls freak out.

The bottle landed on Reiner, much to _his_ pleasure. “Truth or dare?” I huffed, blowing some of the wig’s hair out of my face. He may be my best friend but whatever he chose, I’d have to come up with the best thing to torture him with.

Reiner seemed to want to hurry as he immediately responded back with ‘truth’. I squinted at him for a moment before trying to come up with something clever. “How many times have you and Bertl done it?” I wasn’t interested in knowing but maybe it would embarrass him.

I forgot that the number of times Reiner has had sex is like bragging rights to him. “Too many to count.” He responded slyly just as he leaned over to turn the bottle. He must have planned it because somehow, in some crazy way, it landed right back on me again.

Against what was probably better judgment, I leaned back and picked up the discarded lemonade from the beginning of the game, and downed almost all of it. The alcohol hit me like a ton of bricks. “Dare.” I said again just like before, even if it was a little fumbled as I tried to say it.

Reiner looked smugger than ever. “I dare you to show up in drag on the first day of school.”

I stared at him in mild-confusion and tilted my head slightly as if it might give me a better view of him. Like _that_ would have helped. But I was having so much trouble trying to understand what the fuck he said that I didn’t notice myself passing out. Apparently that last swig put me down for the count.

-|-|-|-

When I woke up the next day, I was in the middle of being carried by Reiner upstairs. It wasn’t the first time I’d been man handled like I was a rag doll and slung over someone’s shoulder but the last time it happened I was a toddler and _my mom_ was the one man handling me.

“What the heck…” I grumbled, running a hand over my head to find that there was something in the way of my close shave. _Wig_. _We meet again you demonic yellow-brown thing._

I groaned as I tried to remember what else happened beside the whole putting on a wig and finding out I look like a girl when I have long hair. I found out my answer when I lightly pounded a fist on Reiner’s back and kicked out slightly. “Put me down, Reiner.” I whined, upset.

I felt Reiner shake his head and didn’t even bother to look up at the back of his head. “Nope, you, me, Bertl, and Marcy are going shopping.” He seemed way too happy about that.

“What the hell for?” I questioned, twisting slightly as I tried kneeing him in the stomach. He never seemed to get hung over after being drunk. He was basically drunk until it wore off and damn him for never suffering through the headaches.

Marco flipped on a light switch and I immediately tried shielding my eyes from the bright lighting. I was not prepared for this. This was hell. I should have listened to the prissy pants when he made me promise not to drink anything.

“You’re going to school in drag, remember?” Marco told me and I flinched. What the hell kind of…oh right. Dare. Reiner dared me to go to school in drag for the first day. That meant… _women’s_ clothing. I don’t have women’s clothing anywhere let alone do I want to.

The realization that they were going to make me go to school in front of a bunch of kids I’d never met in drag and probably get caught and then have to come back the next day as a dude and oh god people would laugh at me, that was not a nice realization. I’d become the laughing stock of the entire year and I’d never get to make friends other than these assholes and _shit_ what about girls? No girl in her right mind would like a guy who went to school in women’s clothing willingly!

“No! I’m not going through with this!” I protested, reaching up and tugging the wig off my head and tossing it in the direction of Marco and Bertholdt who seemed to be nursing a headache as well. I felt his pain.

Reiner laughed and pulled me off his shoulder a little too fast. I almost hurled all over him from the quick motion. I should have.

Reiner then led me towards the nearest bathroom with a stack of clothes in one hand and the wig in the other. I shot him a dangerous look that would have been very threatening if I hadn’t needed to bolt to the porcelain throne that was the toilet and blow chunks like no tomorrow.

The only one who wasn’t cringing by the end of my fit was Marco who looked rather smug himself. I wouldn’t blame him. The ‘I told you so’ moment is one of the best things that come with life. He should get to revel in that for as long as he wants because this was the biggest kick in the ass I’d had since I got the flu in the seventh grade.

“Marcy,” I eventually called out the open bathroom door. Marco stuck his head in for a moment and acknowledged that he heard me.

I nodded towards him. “Don’t ever let me do that again.” I practically begged, forcing whatever puppy dog eyes I could manage in his direction through the haze of my hangover and the splitting headache that was now starting to wrack at my brain.

Marco returned the nod before heading off in the direction of what I guessed to be the kitchen. Reiner turned on the shower for me and left me a towel. He seemed almost chipper the way that he practically skipped out of the bathroom. I swear he loves dressing up people more than fashion designers.

The shower I took sort of helped with the discomfort of the after effects of drinking _way_ too much but I was still pretty groggy by the time I stepped out past the curtains and wrapped a towel around my waist. I completely ignored the stack of devious looking clothing and the wig staring back at me and ambled right out of the bathroom, settling on cursing out Reiner before I ever put on the wig when it wasn’t necessary or due to one of his dares.

I consider myself pretty lucky when it comes to hangovers. Sure, I’m sensitive to light and my headaches are pretty bad and vomiting is a given factor but I’m not the walking dead. I’m always affected minimally compared to others despite how easily it is for me to get drunk. (Maybe harder to stay drunk? Fast metabolism = fast recovery?)

Reiner, Bertholdt, and Marco were chilling in the kitchen with I spotted one other person who looked to be from the party. They were short, not as short as me, and had blonde hair that vaguely reminded me of cocoanut head from that one television show.

“Connie, we left you clothes for a reason.” Marco complained and I waved him off. There was no way I was putting on clothes that weren’t mine in the presence of someone plotting to dress me up as a girl. No. Way.

Though I sort of regret not putting a shirt on because this fourth guy and Bertholdt were staring at me. “Since when have you had a six pack?” Reiner asked while pouring himself a bowl of cereal and I quickly sat down at the kitchen counter next to Marco so I could hide the lower half of my body.

I gave him a look. “Dude, I’ve always had a six pack.” I said. Maybe because he was always so fucking huge he forgot that other people could have muscles as well. I’m not the biggest person but my BMI is actually really good for the amount of pringles I eat.

Reiner shook his head at me. “Not last year.” He replied and I frowned. I was a wimpy freshman last year therefore there was no reason for me to need a six pack then.

I ignored the statement and turned towards the blonde guy who was hovering around the counter. He looked a little whoozy and maybe he drank too much last night so he had to stick around. I don’t know, but he kind of looked like the type to hang out with Marco rather than Reiner.

The blonde spoke before I could, giving me a crooked smile. He probably couldn’t think straight still. “I’m Armin. I don’t believe we were introduced last night but you’re Connie?” He was about to stick a hand out to shake mine but thought better of himself as he needed to keep his feet and limbs grounded onto whatever was closest to him.

I forced an awkward half smile in return. “You go to school with these guys?” I asked, gesturing towards my three friends.

Marco nodded for Armin. “Armin is in your grade. He’s one of the top students in your class and he’s received pretty high honors for it.” He explained and I quickly understood why this guy looked like he’d hang out with Marco more than Reiner. He was a class A nerd if you went by typical high school labels. But he looked like there was a bit more to him than being smart. I’d just have to wait and see I guess.

“Well, bro, you’ll have to compete with me now and hell if that’s easy-peasy.” I pointed out and felt that internal shake of my own self esteem dropping. Oh yeah, another smart person to show me that I’m not the best reader or the best at math or…just about anything that involved scholastic shit.

Armin gave me a small smile that looked a little more genuine and I wondered what that meant. Otherwise, I turned back to Reiner who was mowing down on a bowl of Frosted Flakes like the flakes didn’t rip apart his throat as it went down. Never, ever, eat solid Frosted Flakes if you want to avoid the pain of a million ninjas slicing your throat as they go down.

“So since we’re absolutely not going shopping, what _are_ we doing?” I asked, implying that there was no way on god’s green earth that I would ever go out shopping for women’s clothing. Heck, I’d just borrow someone’s if I was going to go through with the dare. Except, I wouldn’t be so why was I even considering the possibility?

Reiner thought that was funny. “Oh no, you’re taking the dare. You laughed at Bertl and I and that’s the price you have to pay.” He said with a chuckle. Chuckle is such a weird word, like giggling sounds better but it’s so girly and kid-like. It’s like after you hit puberty you can no longer giggle unless female.

“Come on…Reiner! I can’t go to school in drag!” I protested, completely ignoring the look I got from Armin. He wasn’t aware of the situation and I wasn’t sure he wanted to be. I hoped he didn’t want to be at least. Nothing interesting here, just a GUY GETTING DARED TO GO TO SCHOOL IN WOMEN’S CLOTHING. Yeah no, really boring.

Reiner was already walking towards the bathroom to retrieve the wig and clothing I had left there. Armin, who had otherwise been trying to understand the situation, spoke up when Reiner tossed the stack of clothes at me. “If you’re going to be dressing up as a girl, it will be easier to not get caught if you fake a female chest.” He suggested and I instantly shot him an accusing look.

“Are you suggesting that I put on fake jugs and parade around in front of people?” I asked and he shrugged.

Bertholdt only made it worse. “We could ask for one of Annie’s bras.” He added onto the idea and I found myself feeling more and more condemned. Put the eviction notice on my forehead, I’m moving out before this shit falls apart.

“What, are you kidding? Just take one. Annie’s never going to notice.” Reiner announced just as I held up some of the clothes he’d thrown at me. His excuse for something a woman would wear is sadder than hell. At least, from whatever wardrobe he’d picked from which was likely his own.

I sputtered when he mentioned that they could just steal one of Annie’s. Annie lived with Bertholdt because of whatever reason and she was one of the most abrasive people I’ve ever met. She doesn’t like me all that much so I avoid her whenever I would come up from Ragako to visit.

“She’d kill me!” I insisted before they could continue but Bertholdt was already texting Annie to figure out where she was. Reiner waved it off like that wasn’t true and smiled.

Marco seemed to be thinking for a minute. “Well, if it’s just a onetime thing, then we can just borrow some of Annie’s clothes for the day. Do you think she’d notice if Connie was wearing them?” He proposed smartly. Of course, save money, live better, _set up Connie Springer to be assassinated by an angry Annie Leonhardt._

“No! She’ll totally notice!” I fought but each thing I said was ignored. Marco, Bertholdt, Reiner and this blonde dude were conspiring against me. I was going to _die_.

After many minutes of begging and trying to get them to listen, Reiner eventually tossed me my clothes from last night and let me change back into what would be a normal get up. But whatever relief I thought would come from that diminished the second I walked out of the bathroom to become dragged all the way out the front door and into Bertholdt’s car where the four of us, (and Armin?), drove to Bertholdt and Annie’s house.

Once there, I thanked whatever god still loved me for the fact that Annie’s car wasn’t parked in the driveway. Bertholdt told me she was out with friends and I wondered who the hell would hang out with Annie. She was dangerous, scary, and likely a harsh person if you’re a friend or not. I mean, she had to be. She doesn’t like me and I can’t understand why. I’m perfect.

The journey to Annie’s room was more intense than I thought. No one else was home at Bertholdt’s but I wasn’t quite sure if that helped or not. I’m still deathly afraid of Annie and who knows if she’ll just pop out of nowhere at random. Plus, she never lets anyone in her room but Bertholdt and Reiner so the mere fact that I’m supposed to be sneaking into her room and raiding her closet is sort of more than taboo.

Normally I’m up for a challenge like that. I like sneaking into places I’m not supposed to be but only when the situation is right and my life isn’t on the line. So yes, mother, it is more dangerous to sneak into Annie Leonhardt’s bedroom than it is to sneak into the faculty room at school and replace their orange juice with that powdery cheese stuff from Kraft mixed in water. (Long story.)

“If I die, you all are not allowed at my funeral.” I warned as we entered the room. It was brighter than I imagined and there weren’t any dead bodies hanging from the walls in chains. Hm, definitely better than what I thought. Instead it looked like any other teenage girl’s room with Annie’s particular tastes and it was pretty clean. Of course, I don’t have many bedrooms to judge from other than my own and mine is an ungodly mess back at home. No lies.

The closet was to the right of the doorway and rather expansive for someone who wore basically nothing but sweatshirts. Even if it’s one hundred degrees out, I bet Annie would still be out there wearing her sweatshirt. Probably.

“Do you think he’d have to wear a skirt? I mean, you can’t really hide the junk can you?” Reiner asked Marco and Armin while I stepped forward to stare at the clothes organized by color. Sure enough there were several sweatshirts hanging at the fore front of her closet.

I aimed a hit towards Reiner for his newfound thought. “No way, no skirts, dresses, or anything humiliating.” I snapped, but alas I was ignored once more as Bertl held up a denim skirt that would probably be mid-thigh on me, and _tight_. I mean I don’t have a female booty but I’m still several centimeters taller than Annie.

“Is denim still in fashion?” Marco commented as he made his way over to Annie’s dresser and Bertholdt. God damn it, it didn’t matter what was in fashion. I’m not wearing girl’s clothes to school in front of a bunch of people.

Armin, elbows deep in the closet, pulled out a light blue tank top and a one of those white sweatshirt-type shirts that is typically pretty loose on girls and the neckline hangs a bit sideways. “These do pretty well in hiding just how much chest is really there.” He was way too interested in dressing me up like a girl when he barely knew me. I knew to distrust this man from now onwards.

“That’ll go with the denim. Now all we’ve got to do is find shoes, something to fake boobies, and make him shave his legs.” Reiner mused. I threw one of Annie’s shoes at him for even suggesting it.

Now previously, all Armin had done was ruin my life till this point but he soon became my saving grace. “Here, just put leggings on under the skirt and he’ll look fine. It’s only a one day thing, right? He won’t need to shave or wax or anything.” Armin handed over a pair of light grey leggings.

Bertholdt then said another thing to further save my sanity and life as I know it. “He can’t wear any of Annie’s shoes. They don’t have the same size feet…but I know a lot of girls who wear converse. That might work.” Thank the lord, I wasn’t wearing heels.

“Aw, my little Constance is going to be so cute.” Reiner actually cooed at me and I threw the other shoe to match the one that I had thrown at him earlier. It hit him square in the face. I’m proud of that.

But as much as I felt like I had been saved, there came the moment that Marco held up a piece of clothing I never wanted to see on me, let alone if it was Annie’s. I think I was more surprised by the size than I was the frilly lace pattern. Bertholdt didn’t seem fazed by it at all but everyone else was nervous in the presence of such a specifically feminine thing. Except maybe Reiner, who was more than confusing because he was being utterly blatant about it? He seemed almost familiar with it, just not the size.

“I had no idea Annie was a B cup. I was so sure she was an A.” Marco commented aloud for all of us who were thinking it. She must have been hiding it behind the sweatshirts.

Reiner shook his head. “Does she have any A’s in there? Connie wouldn’t be busty as a lady.”

I legitimately have never felt so offended in my entire life. “Excuse me but I’d have the biggest tits ever!” I protested only to have all four of the other guys turn to look at me, contemplate it, and then create a chorus of ‘nah’s to counter my statement. Damn it.

Bertholdt dug around in Annie’s dresser for a minute before shaking his head. I rolled my eyes dramatically and crossed my arms, glaring in the direction of the clothes they had laid out for me on Annie’s bed. I hated this plan and further mulled over that fact as Bertholdt, Armin, and Marco debated on what exactly they could stuff the bra with to add density. Reiner was digging around in the bathroom that adjoined the room.

For another few minutes, we all seemed to ignore the fact that Annie Leonhardt could still show up at any time and skin us alive. So when the familiar rumble of a car pulling into the driveway announced her arrival, we all nearly shit ourselves.

“That’s Annie.” Marco voiced out loud as he glanced outside of the window facing the front of the house. Reiner darted out of the bathroom and grabbed the clothes from the bed before stuffing them into a stray bag that was in the back of Annie’s closet. He then tossed the bag at me, opened the window that lead to the back yard, and shoved me towards it.

I looked out the second story window and was about to call him crazy but then realized that Annie’s room was directly placed where the window would open up to a downward sloping roof that covered the kitchen downstairs. I dove out before I could be murdered and inched my way over away from the window.

Reiner didn’t follow me out but a confused and disoriented Armin came carefully ambling out as well. I guess he and Annie didn’t get along either because he looked pretty scared of the prospect of being found as well.

I wouldn’t let myself get saddled down by the nerd though. I needed to escape, quickly. The window shut and I thought maybe Marco and Reiner could get away with being at the house. Armin and I? It was better we be shoved out the window so we could run as away like knights from a killer white rabbit.

Armin inched along behind me and I swung the bag over my shoulder. It was a really old messenger bag probably from Annie’s middle school years. All I knew was that if it didn’t return shortly, she might notice it missing. But hell, I had her clothes with me too so really she could notice all this stuff missing and suspect something happened. I don’t know how but I had the feeling she’d figure out it was me.

“How are we to get down?” Armin whispered as I edged closer to the edge of the roof. I looked down, eyeing the drop and wondering how safe it would be to just jump off and land in a roll or something. Plus I needed to make sure I wasn’t seen…

I contemplated the drop a little bit more, eyeing the backyard for anything I could possibly jump onto. Most of Bertholdt’s backyard was taken up by a large pool that had been the subject of my interest through most of my visits in middle school. I don’t know how he managed to have such a nice looking backyard in the middle of the suburbs and I couldn’t say I wasn’t jealous. But the pool was just far away enough that I couldn’t use that to escape and the patio table and chairs were under an overhand so they wouldn’t be available either.

“Fuck it.” I cursed. I had given up trying to find a safe way to escape and prepared myself to jump off the edge of the roof to a small patch of grass. However, the plan was foiled as just when I was about to launch off the roof, Armin lost his footing and crashed into me.

Both of us toppled. I landed first, luckily managing not to break anything but that was questionable after Armin landed directly on top of me. My rips screamed in agony as I lay on the floor in classic belly flop position under this blonde cocoanut headed nerd. The wind had been knocked out of me and I was wheezing as I tried to get a grip on what was in the most pain. “Oh man, you weigh more than you look.” I grumbled, figuring now that my jaw was what hurt most aside from my ribcage.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” Armin sputtered as he rolled off of me but that did me little comfort. Apologizes would not be enough to save my pride and dignity. This kid probably weighed less than I did and he had nearly crushed me.

The blond cocoanut head continued to repeat apologizing as I forced myself to a creaky stand. “Whatever, just run!” I barked at him as I took off limping towards the six and a half foot fence. I didn’t look back to see if he was following me as I ran at the wall of dark red wood and launched myself at it.

My hands caught the top edge of the wood and I forced myself over it, using whatever arm strength I could gather. (I could vault over just about anything. Tiny size helped with that sort of thing and I had enough practice evading teachers in middle school.) But there was no way Annie was mounting my head on her wall. I’d rather be eaten by bears.

I don’t know whose backyard I landed in but I was surprised to see Armin pop up next to me after moving a weak board out of the way and slipping through the gap in the fence. I was mildly surprised I didn’t think of that but was more surprised Armin even continued to follow me.

“I live nearby. We can go to my house.” Armin announced and finally he was becoming useful rather than landing on my ass like a pile of bricks. I observed the backyard we landed in and was happy to find that no one was there to point us out and call the police.

Somewhat reluctantly, because honestly I still don’t have much faith in Armin other than when he’s trying to further make my female persona look better, I followed the teacher’s pet through the backyard and down the street towards an older house. It looked like it had been around for more years, but then again so did my house back home. It looked massively taken care of though, which made me believe Armin must have some really OCD parents.

I tightened my grip on the bag full of female clothing as we approached the front porch. Armin let us in with a key in his back pocket and I stepped inside to find that the house was even more well taken care of from the indoors. Every surface looked scrubbed clean and immaculate.

“Do your parents run a cleaning service or what?” I commented aloud as I waited for Armin to shut the door. The entrance had a staircase leading upstairs and several openings to other rooms.

Armin took longer to respond and I saw him looking a bit uncomfortable. “No, I can be sort of a germaphobe. It makes it healthier for my grandpa too. He’s not had the best of health.” Armin explained and I noticed how he avoided mentioning his parents. It wasn’t all that surprising. Kids who lose their parents tend to latch onto something and focus on that. For Armin it had to be school work and cleaning. I doubted whether he had any real friends.

Just then, I was proven wrong as I heard footsteps too rapid to be a grandpa coming down the stairs. “Armin! Holy shit man, where the hell were you?” I felt like I should recognize the guy but stepped back when he swung himself over the banister and landed in front of his cocoanut headed friend.

Armin stared the brown haired teen down. He looked to be our age and he must have known Armin for years because the two seemed way too familiar with each other. “Eren, I said I was going to spend the night at Reiner’s. It was too unsafe to drive home-,” The blond hesitated for a moment. “Come to think of it, how did _you_ get home?”

I watched in amazement as this nerdy and oddly effeminate guy put some legit fear into this taller, much more athletic dude’s eyes. “Uh, well, that’s not the point. Who’s this guy?” _Eren_ deflected as he turned towards me, gesturing me up and down. I tried not to feel like a hung over midget.

“Connie Springer. He’s attending school with us this year and staying with Marco for the time being.” Armin explained briefly before retuning right back to the subject he had been on before. I learned rather quickly that there was no escaping Armin when he was about to ream you for something.

Armin crossed his arms over his chest and gave this Eren guy one of the most disappointed looks in the world. “Eren, you didn’t drive home drunk did you? You don’t even have a license.” He asked and I leaned away before this apparent lover’s spat could get any worse.

“No! Jean did and he dropped me off.” Eren announced. I wondered if this was the same Jean that Marco had an apparent interest in and figured it was a small enough world that it should be true. Great, our Marceline is getting involved with an idiot. Of course, I’m no better and I shouldn’t judge him but I have higher expectations for my mom-like friend. I will not tolerate adopting an idiot into the dad-like position. He can be that gross step parent. Eugh.

Armin was about to open his mouth to retort at Eren’s actions but stopped when he realized I was still standing there. “Connie, if you’d like, feel free to have anything in the kitchen. Eren does that _more than enough_.” Oh, look, underhanded comments of complaint to further embarrass people you are pissed off at. Classic move for any given genius.

I nodded my head and quickly scurried off down the short hallway to escape the wrath and found myself in a large kitchen. It was spotless, like the rest of the house, and I wondered if Armin had any worth-while snacks there.  It seemed like this Eren dude would have his own stash of unhealthy delights so I set out in search of Pringles or something of that sort, meanwhile cringing at the tongue lashing being given in the other room. Maybe I should have thought a little higher of Armin before, I don’t know.

After finding that Armin did in fact own food that wouldn’t make me vomit from its healthy nature, I pulled out my cell phone from my back pocket. I had nearly forgotten about it in the mad rush away from Annie but now I had received a text message from Marco saying to call him. Poor dork can’t text for his life. He’s just so uncomfortable with not actually speaking to another person. He’s the master of skype calls and phoning you in the middle of the night rather than actually texting.

Not that I really mind. Texting can be a bit hard at times when you’re low on sleep hours and can’t actually read what’s on the tiny screen because it presents itself in weird strange ways. AKA, I’m not the best at anything involving computer screens because of my dyslexia but I don’t let anyone think that’s why I can’t read after having an all-nighter.

I heeded his command and slipped a potato chip in my mouth as I dialed his number. It rang once before he picked up. “Yo, Marcy.” I greeted through a mouthful of Lays. I could practically hear him shrink back in disturbance towards the noise.

“ _We’re about to leave Bertholdt’s house. Where are you? We’ll pick you up_.” Marco asked and I glanced in the direction of where Armin and Eren were still talking. Damn, they must be dating or something. They were having some existential crisis over there.

I drummed my fingers on the counter top and tried to remember the street name. “I don’t know exactly bro, but the nerd took me to his house.” I replied, hoping that Marco and Armin were that close of friends to know where each other lived.

Today was my lucky day. “ _Okay, we’ll meet you there…,_ ” He said as he would have stopped and hung up then but he paused for a moment before hesitantly continuing. “ _If Eren is there, just avoid the two. They’re kind of in the middle of a spat at the moment. It’s been difficult.”_ Marco warned me and I listened as Eren’s voice was raised in the other room.

So they _were_ dating. Hm, not surprising. Though I would have thought that Eren guy was straight. However, that did add to the list of guys I know that weren’t heterosexual and I was starting to feel like the only straight guy on this planet. My gay-dar was really lacking these days, I was beginning to find out.

“Kay. Rescue me from this mess.” I half begged, half joked. All I really wanted to do was go home to Marco’s house and curl up on my bed for the rest of the day.

My headache was coming back near full force by the time I heard Bertholdt’s car pull up in the driveway. Eren and Armin were sending each other discontented glares as I passed by them. Armin bid me farewell and promised he’d figure something out to help with my ‘situation’ as he dubbed it in front of his close friend (boyfriend?).

“Don’t bother.” I grumbled as I walked past him, quickly remembering the torture this guy had put me through already. He may have given me a place to hide and wait for Marco to pick me up but he still had been the source of all my discomfort this afternoon. He came up with all the ways to make my outfit for the first day of school more realistic.

Waiting for me in the car was Bertholdt, Reiner, and Marco. Reiner was grinning at me like an idiot so I flipped him off. He feigned a look of utter shock and dismay. I just kicked the back of his seat when I plopped right in the back seat of the car with Marco.

“Did Annie notice her shit was missing?” I asked when I lazily buckled the seatbelt. Bertholdt shook his head from behind the wheel and smiled. I had a feeling he had something to do with convincing her otherwise.

Reiner was my source of information as we started driving back to his house. “Nope. This hot babe even started asking if she had clothes she didn’t wear anymore so he could donate them to charity. We might get more clothes for you soon.” He explained and I felt proud of our tall and sweaty Berty but unhappy with the underlying message.

“Are you planning to make me go out dressed like a girl more than once?” I asked, glaring at the two in the front seat. Beside me, Marco was shaking his head and rolling his eyes like normal. I could see him texting someone, probably his mom.

Reiner shook his head and laughed. I felt the urge to kick his seat again. “No, but you never know when we’ll need to put you in drag or when our next game of truth or dare is.” He stated and I kicked his seat. In what circumstance would I need to be dressed in drag?

“I hate you guys.” I groaned, slumping in my chair and trying to avoid feeling the pain in both my torso and jaw from Armin landing on me. Hell, I jumped off a roof and got squashed by a nerd today as well as had my male pride and dignity thrown into a pit of lava. Today was not my day.

Of course, the giant that was Reiner never took anything I said seriously. “We love you too.” He replied back with a chuckle. I didn’t even bother kicking the back of his seat.

-|-|-|-

When Marco and I finally parted ways with Bertholdt and Reiner, things calmed down. Marco didn’t argue with my want to go home and sleep off the rest of the day and if not for one little person, I would have had that want fulfilled. Instead, the second we drove up to Marco’s house and walked inside, I was greeted with the demonic little child herself.

Everyone always thought little innocent Marie Bodt was cute but I had suffered her wrath more than enough times. Marie Bodt, the girl obsessed with finding a boyfriend and the miniature female version of her older brother. It is well known that any time Marie Bodt meets any of Marco’s friends she seriously contemplates whether they’d make a good husband.

Of course, there has only really been one person she never considered to be even remotely cool or awesome like Marco’s other friends. That person was me.

Now, I’m used to getting beat up on by little kids since my sister and brother have an entire posse back home. But Marie Bodt has been known for using psychological war fare. She slowly embeds her opinion of you in your mind and gradually you go insane because she’s everywhere, watching you, judging you. I’ve never met another kid that has ever had such a large vendetta against me.

“Oh look, baldy’s still here!” She exclaimed as she ran over to greet her brother. Marco smiled nervously and shot me an apologetic look. I really didn’t want to get involved with her antics today. The moment she met me, she called me baldy and has never actually referred to me by my real name.

I groaned in annoyance as Marie stuck her tongue out at me the second she released her brother. Marco, in an effort to stop his sister’s antics, picked her up and swung her over his shoulder so he could easily cart her away. I glared at her when she did the customary ‘my eyes are on you’ hand motion. I would have made some comment about her needing to do homework or whatnot but it was still summer so I bit it back and fumbled towards the kitchen.

On my way there, I ran into Marco’s mother. She had to be the only woman on this planet who could possibly be a second mom to me. (Her son was the other ‘mom #2’ but he’s not exactly a woman). We don’t talk much but when we do, she’s always got great advice. I just wish she wasn’t always so tired and worn out.

Marco’s mom has always been this successful business woman yet she puts away most of her money for Marco and Marie’s college funds. I’m not surprised. She knows Marco has potential and any good college he might want to go to would have a high price for tuition. I respect her for that.

“Did you and Marco have fun last night?” She asked momentarily before gesturing towards a batch of cookies cooling by the stove. I felt my mouth water at the simple smell and sight of them. She didn’t need to tell me they were there because my entire existence revolved around eating one of those delicious Bodt-made cookies.

I darted over to grab a cookie before even contemplating answering her. After stuffing one in my mouth and nearly burning my tongue from their gooey goodness, I finally replied. “Yeah. I got to meet a lot of people and Marco seemed to have fun with it.” I didn’t feel the need to mention that I was so wasted I can’t remember anyone but Armin from last night and technically I met Armin this morning.

She smiled softly again and gestured towards a tea pot sitting on the stove as well. “That will help with the headache. I don’t suggest eating too much either. Wait until your stomach is settled.” Oh I had no doubts that she saw right through why Marco and I came home later this morning rather than last night. Of course, she could tell her freckled baby didn’t drink much but I was a completely different story.

I learned a long time ago that as long as we weren’t endangering our health, she allowed me and Marco to do just about anything within reason. “Thanks.” I muttered guiltily anyway. I didn’t like the feeling of almost taking advantage of her kindness. Any other parent would have called my mom and dad with the news that I got roaring drunk with Reiner at a party where I knew next to no one. Hell yeah. I would totally get locked in my room for ten years after anything like that being found out.

Ms. Bodt gave me that knowing look that said she knew what I was thinking and proceeded away from the room. I grabbed two more cookies and exited through the other doorway, heading towards the stairs. I could hear Marie Bodt complaining about wanting to watch a movie with Marco and wondered if I was up to watching a Disney movie. In the end, I really was.

Sticking my head in Marie’s room the second I got up the stairs, I tossed a cookie towards Marco and smirked in Marie’s direction. “So are we watching Rapunzel or what?” I asked, fully abandoning my plan to sleep away the rest of today.

Marie, looking rather indignant, had to correct me. “It’s called _Tangled_!” She clarified. I shrugged off her clearly offended look and knew I could spend the rest of the afternoon teasing her for sport. Marco sometimes scolded me for it but half the time Marie deserved it.

Two hours and an odd commentary on Tangled later, Marco and I both decided passing out was a much better option than sitting through _Frozen_ with Marie. As much as Marco loves his sister, I knew there was a limit to his kindness regarding after party Marco. Regardless of whether Marco would follow me, I wandered upstairs and stripped down to go pass out.

It barely occurred to me that the first day of school was in two days.


End file.
